Pasadena family law firms report that many parents often fail to realize that child support payments are not set in stone after a divorce. Payments can be increased or decreased if a change in circumstances warrants reevaluating the support.
Recently, Marc Anthony’s ex-wife Dayanara Torres made headlines with her request that Anthony increase his monthly child support payments from $13,000 to $112,000. The former Miss Universe claims the superstar's salary has drastically increased since their 2004 divorce. They were married from 2000 to 2004 and have two sons together.
Even though Torres' request might seem like a steep increase, she is within her legal rights to ask for additional child support if Anthony's income has gone up and the expenses of the children have increased as she claims. The judge might honor her request, deny it all together, or set an entirely different support amount.
Every state has different rules regarding child support. In California, there are several reasons why a parent can ask for a change in child support.
- The birth of a child from a new relationship
- The job loss of a parent
- Change in parental income
- Change in a child's needs, such as needing extra funds for education or medical care
- Change in custodial timeshare
- Incarceration of a parent
Child support modifications can be temporary or permanent, depending on whether the change in income and/or expenses is expected to be ongoing. Child support can't be changed retroactively, however. You can't ask for support to be reduced from the day you lost your job if you didn't file for a modification until six months later. Likewise, you can't ask for a raise based on an increase in your ex's income and expect the added support payments to be applied retroactively.
How Can We Help?
If you are in need of assistance with a child support related issue, please call our office at (626) 683-8113 or email us at info@PasadenaLawOffice.com. Our Pasadena family law lawyers are eager to help in any way possible, whether you are a noncustodial parent looking to decrease your child support payments or a custodial parent wondering if you are entitled to more money than you are currently receiving.